Tony Hillerman's Landscape slide show and book signing
4-6 pm
Sunday, Nov. 8
$20-$25
Santa Fe Community Convention Center
201 W. Marcy St.
955-6789
Back in September, SFR spoke with Anne Hillerman, daughter of legendary mystery author Tony Hillerman, about her father's work and legacy. Tony Hillerman passed away in October 2008, and the first week of November 2009 (Nov. 1-8) has been dubbed "Tony Hlilerman Week" by the Santa Fe Public Library.
To celebrate Tony Hillerman Week, the SFPL hosts a special slide show of photographs from Anne Hillerman's new book,
Tony Hillerman's Landscape: On the Road with Chee and Leaphorn
with Anne Hillerman and Don Strel, her husband and the book's photographer.
In addition, the SFPL also dedicates its Tony Hillerman Teen Patio at the Southside Library this weekend. Scroll to the bottom of the post for all the event info.
Below the jump, read an excerpt of SFR's interview with Anne Hillerman [cover story, Sept. 16: "Mystery Man"]. Read the full story
.
SFR: How did you conceive of your forthcoming book,
Tony Hillerman's Landscape: On the Road with Chee and Leaphorn
?
AH:
I run a mystery conference that I started in 2003 in honor of my dad—the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference: Focus on Mystery—in Albuquerque every November. In 2005, our keynote speaker was Michael McGarrity. Michael was going to talk about the role of New Mexico in his books and how the landscape influenced his writing. My husband Don [who is a photographer] said, ‘Well, why don't I get some pictures of the places where your stories are set? We can show the slides.' Dad was there at that talk, and afterwards Dad said to Don, ‘Why don't you do something like that for me?'
What went into putting it together?
I started with re-reading all the books because I was really looking for those beautiful poetic moments, where Jim Chee is driving in his car and he looks out and there's the sunset behind Shiprock, or Leaphorn is at Canyon de Chelly and talking about the ravens and the water. Some of the places in Dad's books I'd never been, so we figured we had to make some road trips. I kept trying to persuade Dad to go with us; I just think it would be so fun to have him in the car and to hear the stories—and I'm sure seeing the landscape would inspire even more stories. But at this point, his health was declining and he just wasn't up for it. Don and I were chugging along, and meanwhile Dad's health is declining and declining, so then in October [2008], Dad died. To have the book come out for that anniversary is really appropriate.
What is the text of the book like?
The editor was more focused on the memoir aspect of the book. She really pushed me to be more personal, to have more anecdotes, to talk more about what the books meant to me or what they meant to Dad. It was my inclination to have a strict journalistic approach, since that was my background. I was thinking about Dad all the time anyway. It was hard, but it really made the book better.
Tony Hillerman Teen Patio Dedication
1:30 pm
Sunday, Nov. 8
Free
Southside Library
6599 Jaguar Drive
955-2810
Tony Hillerman's Landscape slide show and book signing
4-6 pm
Sunday, Nov. 8
$20-$25
Santa Fe Community Convention Center
201 W. Marcy St.
955-6789
